LanLanLancers!
by Bahamut Chris
Summary: A Knight and his friends job search and go on a mining expedition. But they find something more valuable than even the most expensive treasure.


Lan-Lan-Lancers!  
This is the first installment in what I hope will be a long line of Final Fantasy Tactics fanfics. The typical five-person group, the main characters are mercenaries that look for jobs. And like in all good installment-fanfics, Ruroni Kenshin, and Kikaida, there is a big fight scene in every action-packed fic! See if you can pick out the names of real people that I know!  
  
"Damn, we've been out of work for a while now. If we don't get cash soon, we won't be able to afford Gariland canned raviolis anymore, let alone travelling costs," reported Tatsu. He was a skilled person, slow to anger, and with a strong sense of honor. He was a knight, and led his small group of friends through the world looking for odd jobs. But he always felt that something was missing from his profession.  
  
"You shouldn't eat things like that. Cleanse your body of those foods, and you will also cleanse your soul, Tatsu," advised Mira. She was a monk, and a vegetarian, as eating meat went against the Monk's Code. The dialog between her and Tatsu hints at a relationship, but neither of them would act on it.  
  
Peter was flipping through the Igros Periodical, looking for odd jobs. He was a black mage. He considered himself somewhat weak, physically, so he liked his place as the magic-user in the party. A very sarcastic person, but everyone managed to put up with him.  
  
"... Hey! I found something!" he announced, at long last. Everyone gathered around him to find out what he had found so interesting. It was an article in the classifieds. It read:  
  
Looking for ten able-bodied people to go on a  
Mithril Mining expedition. Monsters attacked  
A group of miners, reward may  
Vary on response. Otherwise, pays well;   
See bar owner in Gariland for details.  
  
  
"Doesn't everyone go on mining expeditions now-a-days?" asked Jean. She was a very accurate archer. With a sharp mind, too. Unfortunately, she was slow on her feet, which was another reason why she liked to strike from long distances. But without sight, she would be powerless.  
  
"Not to my knowledge, Jean," replied Anthony. But of course, Anthony was a bit dense, and wasn't knowledgeable about very much of anything except throwing around relatively expensive potions, having been a chemist ever since he was legally of age to have a job-class.  
  
"Did that just say Gariland? I'm there!" chimed Tatsu, always ready for an excuse to go to his favorite city, which was his favorite for a certain undisclosed reason. So everyone went to the world map. They were only a stone's-throw away from Gariland, having been in Igros (why else would they have been reading the Igros Periodicals? I certainly wouldn't expect to find a copy of that in Goug Machine City).  
  
They passed through the Mandalia Plains with little difficulty. Even if they had been beset by monsters, they wouldn't have had much difficulty eliminating them with such a close-knit party. When they reached Gariland, Tatsu forgot completely about the ad that they had seen in the paper and headed straight for the item shop.  
  
"Hey! Tatsu! How are you going to buy your food if you don't have any money?" Mira called after him. If he was any more of an anime character, a sweat-drop would have appeared on his forehead and his eyes would have gained a dense expression.  
  
"I... uh, knew that! I was just going to, uh, say 'hi,' or something like that," he countered.  
  
"Right. Let's get going before we lose the job opportunity," So the five headed to the bar. When they got in, they asked him about the job.  
  
"I think I have that one open for five more people," he began, "But we can only take three people from one party,"  
  
"Why?" asked Peter.  
  
"Because a party would argue too much over the rewards, and Square decided that only three people can go on an adventure from one party,"  
  
"But we pool our funds," explained Jean.  
  
"And so what. A rule is a rule and I can't do very much to about anything about it,"  
  
"And the article said that they were looking for ten people, not three," chimed Anthony.  
  
"... Damn. Got me there,"  
  
"So it's decided. We'll gather some information and we'll leave tomorrow," concluded Tatsu. They asked around and stayed the night at the bar. Then the morning came. By the way, that last part was supposed to be instructive, not funny. I'm not shooting for that in this series.  
  
Everyone was up early, they wanted to get to the mine as soon as they could.  
  
"So who's gonna ride on our Chocobos?" asked Mira.  
  
"Ooh! I'm slow so I have to!" said Jean. "I want to ride on Leo!"  
  
"And since they're my Chocobos..." began Tatsu.  
  
"...You're going to let me ride on one, too, 'cause I'm not too strong and I might collapse on the way, right?" Peter cut Tatsu off. "And what would you do if you came across a Bomb or an elemental monster like that? I'll take Ka."  
  
"Bastard," Tatsu whispered under his breath. So an irritated Tatsu left with his friends to the Mithril Mine. On the way, the became lost. They found a lone Ahriman. It noticed the travelers and glared at them. It began to fly to the five allies. An extremely skilled archer, Jean took up her bow and fired an arrow at the Ahriman's eye. The arrow struck the monster's eye squarely and it fell with a dull thud to the ground.  
  
Upon further inspection of the monster's corpse, they found that it had a piece of Mithril wedged behind its wing. "... So this monster was there, huh? Let's keep going, Ahrimans aren't built for endurance. We can't be far," observed Peter. "Hurry up, you damn Chocobo. I didn't ride you for nothing,"  
  
"Kweh!" cooed Ka. He bucked Peter off. He groaned in pain as he tried to stand from being Chocobuckled onto his posterior. He struggled to get back on the Chocobo. When he re-mounted Leo, they went ahead on their way.  
  
Tatsu looked over at Peter. He had a strange green crescent-moon shape on his Mage's hat. He looked at the knife at Anthony's side which had been given to him by an old man when he was seven, and on its sheath it said, 'Chicken Knife.' He opened the music box that his parents gave him when he left home. His father was a hero for some reason, and his mother died a long time ago. This reminded him of something from somewhere, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He decided to renounce it from memory.  
  
They finally arrived at the mine. A Knight greeted them. "First, I would like to thank you for coming," he began. "This is my mining operation. Some of my employees were attacked and killed by monsters somewhere in this cave. It was a new passageway that they opened up a few days ago. But we haven't been able to find it. They stole the Mithril that we mined as well. Please, go and look for the monsters that took it and bring it back. These people will be your associates," He gestured toward another five-person party.  
  
"Hmph. Stay out of our way," said the person who appeared to be their leader. He was a Lancer. The other four consisted of a thief, a time mage, an oracle, and a squire. They were leaving a green dragon outside. "And otherwise, let's get going. Hurry up, you four,"  
  
So they left. Tatsu shot him a dirty look behind his back. "Do try to get along," the knight said. So they went into the entrance of the mine and left the Chocobos behind. It was very dark, and Peter grabbed an unlit torch and cast tried to cast Fire on it. It missed the torch. He tried again, to no avail. Finally, after five tries, he finally hit the torch, and it went out in a few moments.  
  
"Hey, this is one of those new torches," said Tatsu. He flicked a switch on the side of the torch and a bright flame was ignited immediately.  
  
"This is just not my day," complained Peter.  
  
"Good thinking," complimented Anthony. There was a large cave-in ahead of them one way, and an open path the other.  
  
"Well, I'm thinking that since this wall is still here, the Lancer went that way," concluded Jean, pointing down the other path.  
  
"So we'll go this way. Move over, Tatsu," ordered Mira. She walked to the cave-in and began to concentrate. She suddenly yelled, "Kiai!" and struck the rocks with the lower part of her palm. They shattered easily.  
  
"Wow," mumbled Tatsu, overcome with this display of strength. They went down this newly-opened path. After a long hike, they found that they were going on a short incline.  
  
"So three Squires walk into a bar," Mira was starting a joke to preoccupy them from their undoubted exhaustion from all this walking.  
  
"And?" asked Anthony.  
  
"Ouch," she finished.  
  
"Huh? So why'd they go 'ouch'? We walked into a bar and we didn't go 'ouch',"  
  
"You're forgetting plays on words again,"  
  
"Oh. OH! I get it! They walked into a bar like that one right in front of..." And there was seriously a bar in front of them. Everyone else ducked, but Anthony had already walked into it. A loud sound echoed from it.  
  
"Hey... that sounds like the sound that Mithril makes when you strike it!" exclaimed Tatsu.  
  
"So the monsters make bars?" Anthony said, rubbing his head.  
  
"No, because Mithril is so strong, it is used to support newly-dug caves until they can be determined solid. So that means..."  
  
"That these are relatively new caves! So we must be really close to the monsters!"  
  
"That's exactly right!" So given a new breath of strength, they rushed ahead. After a little while, the ground leveled out and it opened up into a large room. There was an opening that led to the outside. There was a treasure chest in the direct light from the outside. "That must be where the Mithril is!  
  
"As soon as Tatsu said that, monsters came out of the shadows. They consisted of a Red Goblin, two Ahrimans, and a Black Goblin. "God dammit, Tatsu, why'd you have to say that?" complained Peter.  
  
"Hey, they were coming anyway. It was part of the plot, and it was time-triggered, not text-box trigger. They would've come out at the same time despite the fact that we didn't say anything. "Hmm... monsters usually travel in groups of five... so that must mean that the Ahriman we killed earlier was one of these," Tatsu observed. One of the Ahrimans started for the party.  
  
"Text-box trigger? Don't you mean 'text-box triggered'?"  
  
"Nope, that was a translation typo,"  
  
"Here they come!" He began to prepare a Thunder Spell. A small cloud generated above the monster and a lightning bolt struck it. It didn't seem to be injured very much, but it was dazed. "Wh... what happened? That should have killed it!"  
  
"You're forgetting about Zodiac Symbols, Peter," instructed Jean.  
  
"That's right, I am, aren't I?"  
  
"Well, nothing that I can't handle," she finished. She took aim at the creature and shot a precisely aimed arrow through its eye. It howled in pain and convulsed a few times before it finally died. Then, the next Ahriman came. It shot a gaze at Jean, who was trying to aim at it. She suddenly couldn't see a thing and magical Everdull¨ brand dark glasses covered her eyes. "I'm sorry, guys! I have to sit this one out!"  
  
"How could you do that to Jean?" cried Anthony. He rushed the Ahriman, which was now settling on the ground, its job finished. He drew his Chicken Knife and drove it straight into the Ahriman's eye. It didn't cry out as it died, it slumped over as its world was sucked into blindness and its life withered with its sight.  
  
"Wow, he must've been a real wuss when he was seven," Mira said, under her breath, remembering the Legend of the Source of the Strength of the Chicken Blade.  
  
Now the goblins advanced on Anthony. "Oh, hell no. Hurry up and get out of there, Ant!" ordered Tatsu.  
  
"Huh?" asked Anthony. He looked in the direction of the Goblins. They were practically on him. "H... holy shi...!" A crushing, spinning punch knocked them away. They were still conscious, but the Red Goblin was almost comatose. Mira did a quick victory pose. The Black Goblin turned its attention to her.  
  
"Mira!" Tatsu yelled. He charged at the Black Goblin, swinging his sword wildly. He used his amazing skill to slice the creature in two.  
  
"Hey, don't forget about me!" chimed in Peter. He took his Mage's Rod and jogged toward the remaining Goblin. He bopped it on its head, but this only succeeded in making it angry. It countered with a quick punch to his stomach. "This is sooo not my day..." he grumbled as he held his side and flopped to the ground., breathing heavily.  
  
"Jean, take this," called Anthony. He tossed a bottle of Eye Drops to Jean. Her blindness was immediately dispelled.  
  
"Right," she responded, taking bow in hand. "Peter, keep him right there!"  
  
"Easy for you to say, you're not feeling this jackass' breath on your face. This guy needs a certain curiously strong unmentionable product produced by a curiously popular unmentionable company from a curiously curious country called England!" Peter responded, voice jittery with pain.  
  
"Hey, relax! I got you covered, Peter," said Anthony, tossing him a Potion out of turn. Peter got back up in a jiffy. By this time, Jean had aimed her shot and gotten an arrow ready. She shot it with pinpoint accuracy. It killed the goblin on impact.  
  
Suddenly, the Lancer jumped down out of nowhere, and landed right in front of the treasure chest. He wasn't followed by the rest of his party. He looked around with his thief-like caution and opened the chest. There was a huge Mithril deposit in there. Tatsu and his friends gathered around him. "H... hey, what? I opened the chest, it... it's mine!" he claimed.  
  
"Fat chance," Tatsu said sternly.  
  
"Fine then. You want this that badly? We'll do this like real men; I'll take you on one-on-one,"  
  
"Let's go. I'll take you on any day!" Tatsu drew his sword. The lancer took the advantage of his weapon's length and tried to stab Tatsu first. Tatsu quickly dodged and took the advantage of a spear's length to force it to the ground with a quick slash. The lancer used this leverage as a pole-vault and jumped high into the air.  
  
Tatsu watched his shadow fervently. He moved out of the lancer's way and took the tactical approach by slashing at his arm when he landed. His spear was still in the ground, and he was wounded by Tatsu's attack. Struggling with the pain in his arm and the embedded spear, the lancer was powerless against Tatsu.  
  
"Dammit..." the lancer grumbled. "Well, kid, looks like I lost. I gotta hand it to you, you did pretty good. Well, looks like I'm not gonna win this one..."  
  
"And so what do you want me to do about it?"  
  
"Take your Mithril..."  
  
"And what about you?"  
  
"And kill me. I don't have anything left for me in the world. Yeah... nothing left,"  
  
"Whatever happened to those other people that you had with you?"  
  
"They were... they were killed by monsters. I know that I should have told them not to change their classes yet but they were too stubborn. They desired power over prowess. So they're gone and it's too late to change that. Now kill me!"  
  
"Hey, I'll have to ask my friends about that one,"  
  
"Kill that bastard! He tried to take credit for what we worked so hard for!" replied Peter almost immediately.  
  
"I have to take those grounds," agreed Jean.  
  
"You know, I think he's bluffing. He just wants our sympathy. Let him live his swindling life," said Mira.  
  
"I don't like to kill people unless I really have to... I'm a chemist after all. I vouch for peace, or at least, to a certain degree. I think we should be there for him if he doesn't have anyone left,"  
  
"WHAT?" asked the whole party, surprised at Anthony's enlightened response. They never would have guessed that there was a philosophical side to him.  
  
"Well, what do you say to that, lancer?" asked Tatsu.  
  
"... Hmph. Well... I... I... I've never been offered something like this before. I... don't know what to say," replied the lancer.  
  
"Say whatever you feel like,"  
  
"... Sorry. I didn't expect anyone to be like you. But I won't take you up on your offer. IÕm sorry, but I have to leave. On a journey to cleanse my soul, but I won't forget you," The lancer used the spear as something to lean on. He extended a hand out to Tatsu.  
  
They shook hands. "I'm Tatsu. And you?"  
  
"I'm Rick. A lancer, or at least, I was a lancer," A light from heaven touched his head. "But for now, I'll become a more virtuous person. Don't worry, I can take care of myself; just because IÕm not a full-time lancer doesn't mean that I can't still do the same things."  
  
He removed his helmet. His black hair was cut like a Priest's. After taking off the rest of his lancer armor, he was in a priest's robes, too. "Tatsu," he called. "I'll be there. When the sky is darkest, I'll be there to tear through to clouds and fight by your side," He turned toward the mouth of the cave. True to the way of the lancer, he jumped out of the opening to the outside world, still carrying his spear.  
  
Tatsu and his friends grabbed the treasure and headed out the same way. The knight stopped them.  
  
"Thanks. And whatever happened to that lancer? You didn't... kill him, did you? A priest came out and took that guy's dragon," he asked.  
  
"No way, we wouldn't do something like that, would we?" asked Tatsu to his friends. His friends shook their heads.  
  
"Well, that comes out to about... 500 gil for you,"  
  
"WHAT? After all that crap that we went through, 500 gil is the VERY BEST THAT YOU CAN SPARE?" ranted Peter.  
  
"And you can keep the Mithril Ore. It's enough to know where the Mithril went for me. And yes, if I want to hire more miners, 500 gil is the very best that I can spare,"  
  
If the five of them were any more anime-orientated, they would have dilated their joints and gone into very distraught positions and crashed head-first onto the ground and BIG sweat-drops would have come out of their heads. So they went back to Magic City Gariland to buy some Gariland Canned Ravioli with their newly-earned 500 gil.  
  
About a week later in the bar, still at Gariland...  
  
"Hey, I wonder whatever happened to that Rick guy," asked Anthony.  
  
"I dunno," replied Mira. "But I think that it would be kinda cool to be a lancer one day,"  
  
"And conceal your beautiful body under a heavy suit of armor?" joked Tatsu. The two of them couldn't have looked any more anime-orientated as they did when Mira chased Tatsu down the streets of Magic City Gariland. 


End file.
